Chapter 3
I didn't sleep.
By sunrise, I had read the accountant's messages at least twenty times.
His name was Leonard Brooks.
I remembered him vaguely.
He had worked for my father's construction company for almost fifteen years.
A quiet man with silver glasses who always sent me birthday cards when I was younger.
Then, eighteen months earlier, he disappeared from family gatherings.
My father said Leonard retired.
Apparently, that wasn't true.
At seven thirty, I called Danielle.
She answered immediately.
“I was about to call you.”
“Someone contacted me last night.”
I explained Leonard's messages.
Danielle listened.
Then she asked me to forward screenshots.
“Don't delete the originals,” she said.
“I won't.”
“Do you trust him?”
“I don't know.”
“Then don't meet him alone. I'll arrange a meeting at my office.”
Two hours later, I walked into Danielle's conference room.
Leonard was already waiting.
He looked older than I remembered.
His hands trembled around a paper coffee cup.
When he saw me, he stood.
“Nia.”
“Mr. Brooks.”
He smiled sadly.
“Your mother used to tell me you would become the most successful person in the family.”
I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
“She never says that anymore.”
Leonard looked away.
Danielle motioned for us to sit.
“Mr. Brooks, Nia tells me you have information about Arthur Carter's financial activities.”
He nodded.
Then he opened a battered leather briefcase.
Inside were bank statements, invoices, and copies of corporate records.
He placed them on the table.
“I worked for Arthur until eighteen months ago. He fired me after I refused to approve transactions involving Nia's money.”
I stared at him.
“What transactions?”
Leonard looked ashamed.
“Your father was using family reimbursement requests to cover losses in his construction business.”
I frowned.
“I knew he sometimes used the family account for business dinners.”
“It was much more than dinners.”
He slid a spreadsheet toward me.
The first column listed dates.
The second listed descriptions.
The third contained amounts.
I began reading.
Hotel expenses.
Private club membership.
Vehicle leases.
Consulting fees.
Luxury shopping.
And repeated payments to Sterling Asset Services.
My hands tightened.
“How much?”
Leonard took a breath.
“Over the last four years, I identified approximately six hundred and forty thousand dollars in charges and reimbursements that appeared to benefit your father or sister rather than the purposes they claimed.”
I felt sick.
Six hundred and forty thousand dollars.
I had approved some family expenses voluntarily.
But many of these transactions were labeled as emergencies.
Hospital bills.
Property repairs.
Business insurance.
Things my parents claimed they couldn't afford.
“Were these charged to my account?”
“Some were. Others were paid through family accounts funded by your transfers.”
I looked at Danielle.
She was already taking notes.
Leonard continued.
“Your father began discussing a much larger plan last year.”
“What plan?”
“He wanted Meridian Financial Solutions transferred into a family holding company.”
I swallowed.
“Why?”
“Because his construction company was close to insolvency.”
I stared at him.
“He told me business was improving.”
Leonard shook his head.
“He was losing contracts. Several lenders had issued default notices.”
My heart pounded.
“And he wanted my company as collateral.”
“Yes.”
I leaned back.
The room seemed to tilt.
My father hadn't been trying to strengthen our family.
He had been trying to rescue his failing business by risking mine.
Leonard looked down.
“I should have contacted you earlier.”
“Why didn't you?”
“He threatened to sue me and ruin my reputation if I disclosed confidential information.”
Danielle leaned forward.
“We'll need to review how these documents were obtained and what you may lawfully share.”
Leonard nodded.
“I understand.”
Then he removed another folder.
“This is why I contacted you last night.”
The folder contained a draft agreement involving Arthur Carter, Claire Carter, and Ethan Pierce.
My mother's signature appeared on the last page.
I stared at it.
“What is this?”
Leonard swallowed.
“A proposed transaction involving the family mansion.”
I frowned.
“My parents already own the mansion.”
“Not outright.”
I knew about the mortgage.
But Leonard shook his head when I mentioned it.
“There are additional secured loans.”
“How much?”
“More than two million dollars.”
My stomach dropped.
“The house isn't worth enough to support that.”
“Exactly.”
He pointed to the next page.
“The proposed arrangement would transfer controlling interests in several assets into a new holding structure.”
Including my company.
I recognized its name immediately.
Meridian Financial Solutions.
I whispered, “They planned to take my business.”
Leonard nodded.
“And your mother attended the planning meetings.”
I stared at her signature.
For years, my mother had told me that money didn't matter.
She said family loyalty was more important than independence.
Whenever I questioned a demand, she accused me of being cold.
Now I understood that she had been helping my father construct the very trap he intended to use against me.
I felt tears rising.
Danielle placed a hand on my arm.
“Nia, we need to verify these documents before drawing final conclusions.”
I nodded.
But deep inside, I already knew one thing.
My parents hadn't simply become greedy overnight.
They had been planning this for months.
Leonard reached into his briefcase one final time.
He removed a small envelope.
“I almost forgot.”
“What is it?”
“A copy of a letter Arthur instructed me to prepare.”
He handed it to Danielle.
She opened it.
Her expression changed.
“What?” I asked.
She looked at me.
“Nia, this is a draft notice announcing your removal from Meridian's management.”
My chest tightened.
“But I'm the founder and chief executive.”
Danielle nodded.
“And according to this draft, your father intended to claim you had voluntarily resigned.”
I stared at the paper.
At the bottom was a signature block.
My name.
And beneath it, a digital signature that looked frighteningly authentic.
I whispered, “I never signed that.”
Leonard looked at me sadly.
“I know.”
Then he said something that changed the entire direction of the investigation.
“Nia, I believe your father has access to an old electronic signature file.”
I froze.
“How?”
May you like
Leonard swallowed.
“Because your mother gave it to him.”
